End of US highway 180[I]
View a map showing this route.
Additional research and/or photo credits: Alan Hamilton; Karin and Martin Karner; my parents
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1935 | Caballo, NM | Florence Jct. AZ |
Today's US 180 is actually the second route to be assigned that number (you can read about its endpoints on this page). The original US 180 began at its junction with US 80/89 at Florence Junction AZ. The shot below was taken from what was once eastbound US 80/southbound US 89. Those routes continued to the right at this junction, while straight ahead was the west beginning of US 180:
Karners,
Dec. 2011
Later that segment became part of US 60/US 70, but today it serves only as a frontage road to modern US 60, and it deadends in about a half-mile (hence the yellow signs in the middleground). The photo below shows the opposite direction:
Hamilton,
Dec. 2007
That's looking west at the historic end of US 180. This is the original "Florence Junction": straight ahead was westbound US 80/northbound US 89, while southbound/eastbound was to the left. If we turn left today, we immediately come to an interchange with the US 60 expressway:
Hamilton,
Dec. 2007
Straight ahead is AZ hwy. 79 to Florence and Tucson. US 60 goes west (right) to Phoenix, while Globe is to the left. But originally from this point it was US 180 that went east to Globe, and then continued southeast into New Mexico. Near Lordsburg, US 180 came within three miles of rejoining its "parent" route (US 80), but instead veered off to the northeast. From there the assigned routing was through Silver City and over Emory Pass to Caballo, where US 180 ended at its junction with US 85. However, there's some question as to whether the segment between Hanover and Hillsboro was even a driveable auto route during that time period. Suggesting that it was not is the fact that the route was decommissioned after only about 9 years - US 70 took over the segment west of Lordsburg, but the Emory Pass segment hasn't been a part of the US route system since then.
Anyway, the photos below show the historic terminus at Caballo. This first one is looking east on NM hwy. 152:
my parents,
Apr. 2006
The Caballo Mountains dominate the horizon in that direction. I-25's interchange 63 is just behind the camera. Old US 180 is now NM 152. In the distance is NM 187, which was originally US 85. Below is a close-up:
my parents,
Apr. 2006
US 180 ended at the T-junction in the background. The photo below shows a view approaching that junction from the south:
my parents,
Apr. 2006
That was once northbound US 85, and US 180 began to the left. The view below is from the opposite direction:
my parents,
Apr. 2006
As a side note: although this original US 180 and the current US 180 are not related, the current route does overlap the historic route between Silver City and Santa Clara NM (although back in the days of the original US 180, Santa Clara was called "Central").